“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life ….  Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned” (John 3:14-15).
    The first part of this quote from St. John’s Gospel is one of the most famous Bible verses.  You often see people at sporting events with signs that say “John 3:14” referring to this verse.  The word “believes” is mentioned three times. In a few minutes we will recite the Creed, which begins with “I believe….”  It is obvious that to believe is very important, but what does it mean to believe?
    Often when we think about “believing” we think about the content, or what it is we believe.  In fact, that is what the Creed is; a summary of the most important dogmas and doctrines of the our Faith -- that there is a God, that God created everything, that God sent His only begotten Son, who was born, lived among us, suffered, died, and then rose again from the dead.  All of that is very important -- if it wasn’t, we wouldn’t have it in the Creed.
     However, content is not the same as the action of believing.  To believe means to personally adhere or be united to the thing we are believing in.  In the case of faith, to believe means to personally adhere to God, to form a relationship with him.  
     We can believe in a lot of different people and things.  We can believe in the Weather Channel and what it says about whether we are going to get more snow.  We can believe in freedom. We can believe in the Trinity. It is, however, more difficult to believe in just a concept.  For example, we can say that we believe in the freedom of the press, but what are we personally willing to endure for that belief?  It was easy for people in 1776 to say that they believed in freedom, but how many of them were willing to risk their property and lives for it?  But to believe in a person makes all the difference. If we have a personal relationship with a reporter, then we might do much more to defend the freedom of the press.  People’s belief and relationship with George Washington made them more willing to risk everything for the sake of freedom.
     The same is true with our Faith.  We believe in the resurrection, the Trinity, etc… but what makes it easier for us to adhere to these truths is that “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son….”  One of the reasons that the people of the Old Testament times often had difficulty following the Law God gave them through Moses was because they were just doctrines written on stone tablets.  Jesus’ coming into the world made all those beliefs personal. Jesus, through his life, revealed that the Law was so much more than just words written on stone tablets; rather they are what are written on every human heart by God who loves us.  But God will not force his love on us. We must freely accept his love, and just as freely give him our love.
     The believing that makes up our Faith is a product of this relationship between God and us.  Faith is a gift from God. When St. Peter made his confession of faith in Jesus as the Son of God, Jesus told him that he was blessed because that revelation did not come “flesh and blood” but from “my Father who is in Heaven.”  However, our intellect and will cooperate with this Divine grace. “Believing is possible only by grace and the interior helps of the Holy Spirit. But it is no less true that believing is an authentically human act. Trusting in God and cleaving to the truths he has revealed are contrary neither to human freedom nor to human reason” (CCC #154).  So “believing” is a manifestation of our relationship with God.
     I once heard a story about a man trying to get into Heaven through the narrow gate.  He could not get through with everything that he was carrying, so St. Peter told him to start to get rid of things because God would provide for all his needs in Heaven.  The man started to get rid of all his material possessions, but they were not enough, so he then got rid of all the accomplishments he had achieved in life, realizing that they were often sources of pride, but even then he could not get through the gate.  He started to rid himself of his relationships with other people, but he still could not get in. Finally all he had was the Creed, so he started to get rid of the various articles in the Creed. He could only get in when all he had was “I believe.”
     It sounds like a nice story, but I don’t like it, and it is not theologically correct.  It is absolutely true that God will provide us with all we need in this life and when we are in Heaven. It is also true that our material possessions, our pride in our achievements, and even some of our relationships can be obstacles to getting into Heaven.  However, to just “believe” is not enough.
     While the content of our belief -- the doctrines and dogmas -- are not enough to save us, belief must also have some content.  What does it mean to say we believe in Jesus without any of the “content” of who He is? He is the only-begotten Son of God. He was born, of Mary, for us.  He suffered and died for us, and He rose again from the dead. Those all all dogmas of our faith, they are the content of our belief, to believe in Jesus means to believe in all those things.
    “Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation” (CCC #161).  So as we prepare to once again recite the Creed, let us more deeply appreciate the wonderful gift of Faith that God has given us in inviting us into a relationship with His Son as we say, “I believe….”